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Mysteries of Sparrow Island #10
Secrets in the Sand
The Mysteries of Sparrow Island follow Abigail Stanton (an ornithologist), who moves to Sparrow Island off of the state of Washington's coast. Abby relocates to the island in order to help her sister (Mary) to adjust to her new life after a debilitating car accident leaves Mary in a wheelchair. Finnegan, Mary's service dog, also helps. This is a Christian theme mystery series which was offered by Guideposts as a membership club.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
September 10, 2019
Abigail is a ornithologist and is setting up a special event to count some birds, when she found a shard of pottery on the beach. She is very curious about where it came from. Along with searching for answers, she manages to get a boy a dog, repair his relationship with his father and find out what the mysterious creature is in the pond.
September 17, 2019
I remember enjoying earlier books in this Mysteries of Sparrow Island series, and so when I saw a bunch of them in a used bookstore, I took the chance to get some more. I like the gentle flow of the stories, and how the Bible is woven throughout. They would be good for a light beach read. You do have to be in the mood for savoring a slow pace.
This is a gentle, leisurely mystery. Not suspenseful, although it had some exciting parts. I would say as far as the fear-factor goes, it's about on par with a grownup version of Gertrude Warner's "Boxcar Children" series.
I have read others in the "Mysteries of Sparrow Island" before, and have enjoyed their leisurely plots. Much of cozy literature uses friendships and relationships for that feeling of comfort. This series also uses the beauty of nature, most prominently, in Abby's bird-watching and the care of wild birds. The first books, "Whispers Through the Trees" and "The Flight of the Raven" are still my favorite, and I do wonder whether people who hadn't read the introductory ones could keep up with all the characters.
I enjoyed reading about the baking contest, particularly the costumes and presentations of the entrants. I also appreciated Abby's stance of trying to be careful, as a taste-tester, to limit herself, both for her health and her palette. That's a nice contrast from several other books I've read recently, both mystery and romance, where the characters indulge themselves willy-nilly, without any adverse health consequences or concerns. That probably goes in the category of wish-fulfillment literature more than being related to reality.
I wasn't sure whether or not to count this as culinary fiction or culinary mystery because recipes were not given, although they were central to part of the plot. I would've been interested in a few of them.
Like in "Birds of a Feather," I thought the Abby's confrontation, this time with Jens, was a little abrupt, even with good intentions, and I doubt that would've turned out as well in real life. Gentleness ...
I also thought that although Abby ached for Jose's situation, she should've shown more respect for Jens in his parenting role. There's a good chance she didn't know everything about the situation.
There's also balancing the opposite truth that sometimes, in order to parent well, one must face their griefs intentionally and heal as much as possible from them first, rather than just putting on a fake happy face and trying to parent as if nothing's happened. The fake happy face seems to be what Abby forcefully and rudely recommended.
But healing "enough" first goes along the lines of the common analogy of putting on your own oxygen mask before you help another. Or "Healer, heal thyself." Jens could have already been taking steps, unknown to Abby, to walk through this grief and come to terms with it, so that he could better connect with his parenting role and better face the stresses of parenting. I could imagine him wanting to keep that grieving journey private, if he had already taken steps. But in this book, Jens had no further character depth than what could be seen from afar. Mary seemed to better understand Jens than Abby did, in understanding his need to work towards genuine emotional healing in the books that she gave him. (I say "work towards healing" rather than being completely healed emotionally because that may not come in this lifetime, even if the amount of healing here can be astonishing, and is not to be lightly discounted.)
There's the choice to just put on the fake happy face and focus on Jose. There's the choice to focus on healing enough first in order to be a better parent to Jose. Also, there's a third choice, in choosing to heal alongside Jose, together, as much as is appropriate, bringing him into his grief discussions, and finding things together that comfort, reassure, and soothe. That would depend, in part, upon Jens' level of comfort in being open and in Jose's maturity.
I'm afraid I like this series much better than the parent organization, Guideposts. Guideposts has wandered further and further away from anything substantiated by scripture, although this series may have been written before that detachment from the Bible, and these authors (Susan Plunkett & Krysteen Seelen) are different ones than Norman Vincent Peale, founder of Guideposts and author of "Positive Thinking," who, in my thinking, set up people for disillusionment with faith by making it sound like God has promised things He has not, and that that all we have to do to get something is to think positively about it. But if you consider only this series, and not its parent establishment, it's a very good series indeed.
Favorite quotes:
"Art is one of the ways God tells us He loves us."
"Give your answer and mean it. Then be done with it. That's the best and in the long run, the easiest way."
This is a gentle, leisurely mystery. Not suspenseful, although it had some exciting parts. I would say as far as the fear-factor goes, it's about on par with a grownup version of Gertrude Warner's "Boxcar Children" series.
I have read others in the "Mysteries of Sparrow Island" before, and have enjoyed their leisurely plots. Much of cozy literature uses friendships and relationships for that feeling of comfort. This series also uses the beauty of nature, most prominently, in Abby's bird-watching and the care of wild birds. The first books, "Whispers Through the Trees" and "The Flight of the Raven" are still my favorite, and I do wonder whether people who hadn't read the introductory ones could keep up with all the characters.
I enjoyed reading about the baking contest, particularly the costumes and presentations of the entrants. I also appreciated Abby's stance of trying to be careful, as a taste-tester, to limit herself, both for her health and her palette. That's a nice contrast from several other books I've read recently, both mystery and romance, where the characters indulge themselves willy-nilly, without any adverse health consequences or concerns. That probably goes in the category of wish-fulfillment literature more than being related to reality.
I wasn't sure whether or not to count this as culinary fiction or culinary mystery because recipes were not given, although they were central to part of the plot. I would've been interested in a few of them.
Like in "Birds of a Feather," I thought the Abby's confrontation, this time with Jens, was a little abrupt, even with good intentions, and I doubt that would've turned out as well in real life. Gentleness ...
I also thought that although Abby ached for Jose's situation, she should've shown more respect for Jens in his parenting role. There's a good chance she didn't know everything about the situation.
There's also balancing the opposite truth that sometimes, in order to parent well, one must face their griefs intentionally and heal as much as possible from them first, rather than just putting on a fake happy face and trying to parent as if nothing's happened. The fake happy face seems to be what Abby forcefully and rudely recommended.
But healing "enough" first goes along the lines of the common analogy of putting on your own oxygen mask before you help another. Or "Healer, heal thyself." Jens could have already been taking steps, unknown to Abby, to walk through this grief and come to terms with it, so that he could better connect with his parenting role and better face the stresses of parenting. I could imagine him wanting to keep that grieving journey private, if he had already taken steps. But in this book, Jens had no further character depth than what could be seen from afar. Mary seemed to better understand Jens than Abby did, in understanding his need to work towards genuine emotional healing in the books that she gave him. (I say "work towards healing" rather than being completely healed emotionally because that may not come in this lifetime, even if the amount of healing here can be astonishing, and is not to be lightly discounted.)
There's the choice to just put on the fake happy face and focus on Jose. There's the choice to focus on healing enough first in order to be a better parent to Jose. Also, there's a third choice, in choosing to heal alongside Jose, together, as much as is appropriate, bringing him into his grief discussions, and finding things together that comfort, reassure, and soothe. That would depend, in part, upon Jens' level of comfort in being open and in Jose's maturity.
I'm afraid I like this series much better than the parent organization, Guideposts. Guideposts has wandered further and further away from anything substantiated by scripture, although this series may have been written before that detachment from the Bible, and these authors (Susan Plunkett & Krysteen Seelen) are different ones than Norman Vincent Peale, founder of Guideposts and author of "Positive Thinking," who, in my thinking, set up people for disillusionment with faith by making it sound like God has promised things He has not, and that that all we have to do to get something is to think positively about it. But if you consider only this series, and not its parent establishment, it's a very good series indeed.
Favorite quotes:
"Art is one of the ways God tells us He loves us."
"Give your answer and mean it. Then be done with it. That's the best and in the long run, the easiest way."
September 19, 2020
I've read other Mysteries of Sparrow Island books. A friend passed this one on to me after she'd read it.
I found it a compelling read. I liked Bobby and Jose and their friendship. I like how the islanders always seem ready to help each other. I liked that Jose took in Zorro (the dog). I'm glad Jose's father was receptive to some of the islanders's attempts to reach out to him.
I think finding buried treasure is probably a common childhood fantasy. Bobby and Jose get to fulfill that fantasy. I liked learning a little bit about pottery and Faberge eggs (for some reason I'd never heard that each contains a surprise). I liked learning a little bit about the interests of some of the islanders.
I found it a compelling read. I liked Bobby and Jose and their friendship. I like how the islanders always seem ready to help each other. I liked that Jose took in Zorro (the dog). I'm glad Jose's father was receptive to some of the islanders's attempts to reach out to him.
I think finding buried treasure is probably a common childhood fantasy. Bobby and Jose get to fulfill that fantasy. I liked learning a little bit about pottery and Faberge eggs (for some reason I'd never heard that each contains a surprise). I liked learning a little bit about the interests of some of the islanders.
March 28, 2018
Totally enjoyed at this time in my life when I don't have the time to read, as I would like. A very good bedside table book, as I could pick it back up and enjoy whatever time I had to read.
July 9, 2018
I would still say this is my favorite series to read right now. It's well-written with just a hint of religion and a mysterious plot line. Very good!
May 4, 2022
Enjoyed it. Good message.
May 20, 2022
Very good
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews